Stay Educated.
Studying Abroad has its bells and whistles, but there is “not so sexy part” which is something I hated it and you will hate it.
Next Steps
Update – Follow-up Video for the comments is posted here – How to Keep yourself Stay Motivated in College
Life in USA comes with all the bells and whistles. But, there are many challenges for an Indian family.
You must have read deep emotions in the following articles
I wish the solution were as easy as the author of this blog suggests. (Referring to above link)
I came to the US to work for max 2 yrs and then go back.
Didn’t bother applying for my GC..coz frankly I was never fascinated by the US or about settling down abroad.
Just wanted to experience independence before getting married.
Well, turns out I ended up living in the US longer than planned. Made a lot if friends, had a great time. My parents visited every year.
Met my husband and all was well, until one day I noticed my parents getting older when they visited me that year.
They do not want to live in the US.
They only want to visit. But I want to be closer to them, to be there to take care of them.
I want to move back to India now. But my husband won’t go back to India since his parents and siblings are all settled in the US.
So the next option is to try and bring my parents to US on a green card since I am a US citizen.
My parents are not very social, in the sense they don’t care for potlucks or attending events or gatherings.
Both are retired from high ranking jobs in India and are currently doing some advisory work there.
They need that mental stimulation. So getting them similar things to do in US is challenging.
Any suggestions on how to make that happen? Additional info on me..I am an only child, work full-time and have a son who goes to kindergarten. Thanks in advance for suggestions.
//
I know its tough and for your parents settling down USA is very tough. They are not used to the U.S. style of living.
R.S. Khurana shared his experience about hard work, determination and making it big in America and comparingit to lifestyle in India. Re-published from the comment to This is How Life is Like for a Indian Family in USA.
PS: Contents were edited for typos and about 5 sentences were deleted from original comment. Opinion is from the commenter.
I went through all comments. I would say all who are negative had made their life a hell that is why you are having such problems. A brief about me when I came to USA i was 25 I was brought by a wealthy couple from India who needed domestic help.
I was just 5th grade from a Punjabi medium school. Did not understand a single word of English. For 2 years I just went out with lady for grocery shopping and all. I almost worked 24X7 day and night without week offs and no salary.
Even worked as a dishwasher in their hotel. But suddenly in a road accident the couple died. I was left alone out with no money no shelter and the most important no English. I struggled a lot.
These days you have lots of shelter homes but during those days there was nothing like that. For next 2 years I just struggled to deal with my basic needs.
After 1 year I was a bit stable with a shelter and food, under a special program I got admitted in a community college.
I studied there for 4 years. Then started working for an IT company and completed my MBA. Remember after my MBA I worked with Google for 3 years.
A typical 9-5 jobs and then I found I should be an entrepreneur. And today at age of 48 I am retired. I took retirement 3 years back and enjoying my life. In last 3 years I have visited places not only in USA but also in other parts of globe.
About my kids as someone said that I am suppressing them. I would like to tell you my kids are growing perfectly. They are adopted to American culture. I never forced them instead I thought them the real Indian morals and values. I took them several times to India just to show how our people deal in India and importance of Indian morals and culture.
I am son of a farmer, I showed them what exactly farms are, how crops are grown and you will not believe whenever they visit India, they go to farms to work like a normal Indian farmer family would do.
Boys and girls I am really sorry for your children if you don’t have time to teach Indian values to your kids. Even in a part of my life I too had worked with a big giant it company. I don’t know what you do in weekends or after 5.
Today, before you come to USA you have options to get self-educated. You can see people. You can speak to people over here. You can almost experience america virtually before coming here.
When I came to America I didn’t know where exactly America is? Me and my parents were told that we are going to a far part of Punjab. Being in a very remote village of that time, We even did not know how big exactly the Punjab is?
Ok, just leaving this all aside can any one of you tell me what exactly you do after office?
When a bunch of friends come from India to USA for studies, why you guys just forget your friendship as it was in India and start behaving like Americans as soon as you land over here?
Someone said when in Rome be Romans. Can you tell me if you had really become Americans then why do you complain. Americans don’t complain of such things.
And the most important, what kind of work do you have after work hours that is preventing from enjoying time with your family?
You wanna save tons of money and send it to India and again you say you can’t go back to India. In that case what has happened to the money you sent it over there. I guess you made a wrong investment cause now at the place you have invested you can’t go.
Can you think of retirement in India at age of 45?
Or can you think of such a honest staff at your restaurant in India that manages everything and you just need to visit them once a week or so?
Someone said get to IIT. I know now a days IIT gives just 2 attempts. And if you are average, no university or college or school is going to admit you.
Here in a same and good university equivalent to IIT in India or much better age is no bar or you can apply as many times as you wish.
Last month my eldest son told me that he wanted to become a professional sky diver. We just visited sky diving school to experience it.
Now if you are in India the very first thing which will come to your mind is what is the scope.
Next when you will come to know the fees is 67000$ per year you will just ask him that forget about this.
I have promised my son that as soon as he completes high school I will get him enrolled in it. The other twins one wants to be a pilot and other one a doctor.
My little princess wanted to be a sommelier or just wanna try in Hollywood. She can not even spell these words. I don’t have any idea how much is it going to cost me. And as per Indian values I’m not planning at all for loans and all.
But, I’m very sure that I can make their dreams a reality.
Now let me calculate you becoming complete devoted American struggling hard to earn more working 20 hours a day complains all day that USA is not like India.
Can you do any of these back in India?
You are in America. Either you become complete American and stop complaining.
Behave like an India with your Indian friends and American to rest of the America.
I’m sure when your group and you understand this you will have a beautiful life same as India.
I’m sorry but don’t try to overpower me I have much more and bitter experience then you.
What do you think about his experience and advice?
> Following post was shared by Manasa.
I dunno if this experience is worth-sharing or not. If you think this is inappropriate or gonna affect the feelings of particular race or class, do not share it.
I stay in Dallas on H4 visa.
I was just learning driving.
I was driving with the trainer seated beside.
We stopped at the gas station beside the gas tank.
The trainer left the car saying he would fill the fuel. I was sitting still in the driver’s seat.
He went into gas station before fueling and was back in 3-4 minutes.
Meantime,there were two cars, one in-front of me at another gas tank, the other was behind me(it seems the back car missed the slot in which I parked.)
I was on phone. Suddenly, I dunno what happened, two African American ladies from the back and the front cars came and started pointing finger towards me and shouting something.
I slid my glass door down and said am still learning and the trainer will be here in a minute.
I am sure there are other slots to use too. They became really aggressive and started abusing.
I closed my glass door back again. They just stood there all the time(4-5 minutes) calling the number on the car and shouting.
The guy came and they said something to him. The guy ignored them started fueling. They moved to another slot but still they were shouting.We left from there ignoring them.
I guess its the driver’s mistake not to fuel as soon as we got there. Yet, there are other unused slots too.
Why does they have to be so aggressive?
Why are they so crazy?
Seriously, Where do these guys come from?
I don’t really get it.
This may not sound serious. But, I do know heck of lot of crazy incidents happened especially with the particular kind of race.
Once, my husband was pointed a gun by a African American guy( in Cleveland).
You might have also known similar kind of experiences with the many immigrants(especially) working,studying,etc..
We always flaunt about the greater things of America. I sure agree it.
But, what can we do about incidents like these?
How can students especially can handle these kind of situations?
We don’t know what may happen if we reply rudely; they may carry guns.
I just want to know how to handle these or even worse kind of situations?
Question - Can you please explain how can we get cell phone in USA for free?
For folks who are coming to USA for the first time, refer to Cell Phone Buying Guide in USA.
You must have heard from your friends about free cell phone in USA and wondering how is it possible to get cell phones for free in USA.
In the US, cell phones are sold by the cell phone service providing networks.
Cell Phone Service Providers
The network will set the base price for the cell phone and this base price is generally cheaper than the original retail price set by the manufacturer.
In addition to base price, you will have to sign a contract for a fixed period (generally 2 years) during which you will make monthly payments – Post paid plan.
You can choose the monthly payment amount by selecting a plan that suits you. (as discussed in the above post)
Monthly bills can be anywhere between $30 and $ 100 depending on your cell phone plan.
Looking at the following screenshot taken from AT&T iPhone cost (I have selected to show only free iPhone)
As you can see iPhone 3GS is available for $0.01 or $0.99 with 2 years contract.
Cost of iPhone 4S 16GB(today)
Likewise you can find other cell phone for 1 cent or totally free.
After 2 years contract, you can get another cell phone with new 2 year contract or continue to use the same phone.
For instance, if you iPhone 4, purchased in September 2010. 2 Years contract will expire in September 2012.
If iPhone 5 comes out in October, you have following options
You should be able to sell iPhone 4 for $150 to $250 when next iPhone comes out.
Now, you know how to get free cell phones in USA.
Post your question, comments or suggestion about cell phone plans, contracts, new cell phone, old cell phones, etc below in the comments section.
This is a guest article from UCLA student, Catherine B., who blogs at Get Rich In College, and is passionate about living an inspiring, “rich,” successful and abundant life.
One Done…Three To Go! I just finished my freshman year at UCLA, and while it comes with a hefty tuition for an out of stater — I was able to experience so many out of this world opportunities.
Most events, places and opportunities are free (or included in tuition) as a student at any college where in “real” life, it can cost a lot!
Here’s a picture of me while attending Holi, a festival of colors, for an Indian cultural event at UCLA.
The number one piece of information I learned from college was that you have to make use of everything the college offers. This way you’ll get the most of your money, spend less and the tuition won’t feel as costly.
Although I’m paying for tuition, food and housing, I still have other expenses like extra food, fees, recreational trips, shopping, insurance, dates, transportation etc. However, I found myself only spending about $200 extra a month.
Now, $200 isn’t cheap but if I wasn’t in school, I would be spending way more than that for other expenses.
I would be paying for things like:
BUT in college, I get things like this for FREE:
Just some of these together are over a thousand dollar value per month! And I spend NOTHING!
You already pay tuition, that’s a fact, but you can save a boatload on extra expenses by using your college’s resources.
Not to mention that so many events are constantly going on, so you’ll get your “fun” fix somehow or another — and you’ll find yourself paying less money to do fun things.
I was even able to attend a celebrity event for free! Find out I did it and how you can do the same at Get Rich in College.
See, there’s so much you can do at college. Take advantage of it, have fun and in the end you’ll save money!
*****
Compare Catherine’s cost of living above with an International Indian student’s cost of living at Cost of Living Breakdown.
> Following post was shared by Sivarama Karthik Vijapurapu.
I am Sivarama Karthik Vijapurapu, an MS-EE student at University of Kentucky, Lexington.
I started my MS in the fall 2011 here I am rolling the experiences of my journey to the USA into one single post. Read on..
Being an engineering student in India, I was as confused as a rabbit caught under headlights on a highway about what I wanted to do further. I still try to remember the exact moment when I decided that I am going to do a Master’s degree but thankfully, I know why I am doing one now.
Initially, it seemed the only chance to get away from home to greener pastures which allured me during my brother’s US exploits (Yes, it runs in the family).
Cutting to the chase, I started preparing for GRE and during my 2nd year BE itself.
Thanks to some mentors, online resources and HSB, I scored a decent score of 1360.
Here, I can’t emphasize enough to people who are preparing for GRE to cultivate speaking in English.
Even though you might be an object of ridicule among your friends (True story! I used to speak with girls only in English…hehe), it is very vital to your performance because when you start speaking , you will gradually start thinking in the language and when that happens, writing an essay isn’t that tough a job anymore and also helps to face the all-important VI.
Fortunately, I did internships at industries all through my engineering year summers and I believe that it is what helped me in my admission and subsequent funding for my MS. Also important is to keep in contact with your supervisors during internships as they provide valuable references during job search.
Next up was university selection, I searched for a few universities which had good Power system research and scope of funding which I found to be UKY as it had the Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky(PEIK) funded by the DOE.
Initially, I received a full tuition waiver letter but after exchanging a few e-mails with the program director, they issued me a new I-20 because I expressed doubt about a letter being considered during the VISA interview. My TOEFL exam went well too and I got 105.I took tips from HSB and a few other online sources to write my SOP.
Strangely, I had a tough time convincing the bank authorities about my loan because I did not have much security to show and the bank guys were of the opinion that I did not need a loan as I had scholarship.
I believe that, had I shown my I-20 without the funding, the process would have been more easier.
It is important to calculate your expenditure and I advise taking money in travelers cheques rather than card as there were instances of erroneous transactions when my friends used cards issued by Indian banks.
My VISA was on 7th july ’11 at the Chennai consulate which almost was a cake walk. I rehearsed it for like a week and went to the interview all dressed up.
Me: Good morning Ma’am. How are you doing today?
VO: Good morning. I am doing pretty good. How about you?
Me: Fine,thank you.(waiting with nervousness)VO: Can I see your I-20 and Passport? That’s a nice tie you have there. (this last sentence caught me off guard)
Me: Yes…after a few seconds, I remembered to thank her about the tie compliment.VO: Looking through the I-20.Entering info on her computer. Comes to the funding column and compares it to the Tuition Fee column. A faint smile and she starts typing at break neck speed.
After a few moments,VO: What other universities have you applied for?
Me: I have applied for FSU, UCincinnati, Missouri-Rolla,Virginia Tech and UKY. I received admissions from all universities except for Virginia Tech.VO: What program are you going for?
Me: I have planned to take up Power Systems Engineering madam. It is a field of engineering which is dynamic,vital for technological development and made a connection to my undergrad project and my interest in the course.
She stays indifferent staring at the computer screen and starts typing againVO: Congratulations, you have been issued a VISA and you will receive your passport in a week. Good luck!
Me: Thank you. Have a good day.
My tip for VI is not to show desperation and ‘sir’ing the interviewer profusely. I collected my Passport the same evening at the VFS office which is close to the consulate.
Bags were packed, and even before I realized, I was in USA. But guys, I would suggest that after you get through VI, take some time out with your family especially parents instead of hustling too much for things.
Unless you don’t have enough time, don’t worry much about packing things that you can buy here. I moved in with seniors who knew all the A-Z about MS life, so I could get all the basic things done quite easily.
Living in the USA is an all together entire experience that I can write about.
To keep it simple, I saved money on the first semester by not eating frequently out.
Bought a laptop and camera during the thanksgiving sale and went to Florida. It was truly a marvelous experience and I will surely remember those first 6 months life long.
To give a few tips from the experiences I have learnt about my time in the US :
I could finish my course work in just two semesters by planning well (seniors zindabad!) and I am spending the summer working on a very exciting topic for my thesis and hunting for jobs with plans to graduate in Dec ‘12.
All went well for me and I believe that with hope, persistence and focus, it will be the same for all you dreamers out there.
Thank you, peace out!
Following comments was posted by user names Sumo in reply to Bhaskar Ravishankar.
Since he comment was detailed and long, I’m sharing as a blog post. I have made edits to the format and added titles and spell check for typos. .Actual comment is unedited.
*****
When you stay in US you are sacrificing your parents/relatives/friends/colleges.
Once you are here you would understand how formal it is here with so called friendship. You would not only miss your homeland & relatives and food ….Yes food too. (You cannot imagine how horrible restaurants could be with unskilled cooks. will come later to this).
Let me start putting things together.
First of all if you start studying here for MS you would realize how tuff it is to stay here with Indian rupees. Even with 80% scol you would realize and creep every time you are hungry.
Wont have time to cook (with studies) and basic ingredients are equally expensive. Stores are far away . Life in US is good is painful without cars. Buses run only in cities often infrequent and to get to the stop and store you would have to walk 1.5 miles.
I have seen friends eating bread and jam for a month. Even someday we had to rely on water as while waiting for money to come from India.
There are several things to say including burglary and shooting that could happen anytime in evening as there are huge number of afro american population homeless with guns. My friend got mugged with gun pointing on his head.
2. Ok lets say you have already graduated from MS tuff time is over and now you need jobs. You would really pity how hard it is to get a job with 2 Yrs Indian IT experience here and in campus.
If you cant get it within one month you have to return back.
Lets say you passed that phase and now you already have a job on H1-B visa probably. Now comes the tuff time.
The US is very diplomatic while home ministers visit India and publicly announce Visa quotas.
In reality you would find how difficult it is to get stamped with H1B visa in Indian consulates.
Let me tell you the count of my friend who could not come back to US after India visit it is 17. Thats the trend in last two years.
They would ask for more documentation and within that time frame.
Eventually leading to successive interviews and refusal and revoking H1B. This is the current trend.
Lots of people would deny it but its an hard fact.
People are scared to go to India now because there is s high chance that you wont be back.
To get the loan amount recovered you need to work for some years. So kind of confined within this land ….well thats acceptable till you get GC.
How many years can you be confined ? 4 , 5, 6 or 7 ?
Well there are people who can bear that …if you could you are fine too. Ok let me add another constraint.
Atleast in IT job mostly we find that the projects are short lived 6 mths to an year max in general.
Being H1B worker you would have to move a lots for every new project. Its ok with kids but with Kids in School you would probably have to lave away from them and travel home every two weeks. One week if you are rich 
Ok now comes the critical part.
Life in US is good if you can spend.
Everything is expensive and within that 5000$ ( if it is after tax then you are earning really well …again pessimists would deny) you would manage everything.
Now comes the Indian mindset. I have seen people squeezing every little $ as you would always thing it Rs50.
Seen people leading so poor quality life that Americans really make a fun out of them.
Imagine Indians going to Disneyland with bread, jam, chips and 2 litre coke bottles in plastic grocery store bags and seating in pavements like beggers eating those.
Can’t really understand how they have a mind set in Disneyland like that(ticket around $95 perday).
So saving day by day each day they build up money for their children to live well. They never return to India at their old ages. The $ – Rupee conversion never takes place. Leading a low quality life year after year they loose their life.
Ok now children!!!
When they grow and go to schools they want to get American culture and try to show off (someway they have to be superior often not being Indian).
They try to spend, get American culture and hate their parents try to mix with Americans and be an American. If your child calls police for your misbehavior you would be detonated and they would be took to some foster homes and its a fact again.
They would be second class citizens here and would always try to gain the privilege they lack.
Imagine you could overcome all these.
Tell me one thing ….what advantage did you gained coming to US and sacrificing your life ???
Also did your parents do any wrong you ditched them? Don’t tell me that I will bring my parents to US. The health insurance itself would be half of your current salary every month.
Disclaimer – The opinions expressed in the post are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Happy Schools Blog.
Image By
I’m a big fan of 4 Hour Work Week and few HSB readers have purchased the book.
Comment from HSB Fan – Sharad Bhalla
Read first few chapters! Few new and new terms! :p But i think it’s something that can help change the old traditional mindset regarding career. I want that
Anyway, what does a person like Tim Ferris, who have sold millions of copy of his books 4 Hour Work Week and 4 Hour Body, do on a typical day?
Watch the following video. There are several important lesson I learned watching his video.
Note from Tim on is blog
Hey guys, if you’re international, try HotspotShield and let me know if that works: http://hotspotshield.com/
If you find a work around, please let folks know!
Tim
Can you identify most important lesson I should have learned from the above video?
Did you learn anything new? I’m sure for a typical student back in India, such lifestyle will look amazing or hard to accept. I know several folks who have similar lifestyle.
I have watched several of his presentations and listened to podcasts. If you get a chance, you should follow him.
Following article was written as comment by reader Vish at 20 Fascinating Differences Between Lifestyle in India and USA.
I have been in the US for a substantial amount of time and am staying here not just because of lifestyle, but because of what India has been becoming lately.
Why do people who promote India don’t comment on any of these:
Being a law abiding person and not used to fist fights, I am scared that if I was to get in an accident in India, I may never return home (morons may just beat me to death there).
A million Rapes in Delhi and around every day.
How do I trust people with about 40 murder and rape cases to bring growth.
When I went to India last in 2009, we went to a store called lifestyle and my gf bought a piece of jwellery from a brand called zaveri or something. 1 week later, the necklace was nearly all black and when we took it back to the store. They said they will replace it and we got a replacement in 1 week (were promised 2 days) which went bad again in a week. We went back and demanded for a refund and were told NO REFUNDS, we could exchange that for something else but with the same f**k*** brand.
When the government cant punish people who kill PMs, kill CMs, attack parliament, kill 100s in Mumbai in broad daylight
Inconvenience when shopping. I absolutely hate the idea of leaving my bags with the security at every store in a mall.
Go to a store/shop in India and tell the guy that you are not planning to buy anything, just browsing around and look at his face.
Have a good laugh, legal system in India is a joke.
It’s so much fun when guy on a motorbike behind you on a sidewalk honks and swears at you.
You talk about cost of phone, but forget that the phone cost is also included in that cost (+free M2M, nights & weekends & NO Long Distance/Roaming), in addition if your sim goes bad, you don’t have to pay for those things. If you were a family and had multiple lines on your phone, the US cost is a great deal. In addition to this, try to get your security deposits back from any cell phone company in India. May be it’s my fault but I failed to get my deposits back from reliance.
About internet, you pay 800 for 2MBPS in india, I pay 25$ a month for 30 mbps. I think I have a much better deal.
14. Satisfaction of government letting militants free everyday.
15. Attitude of public servants (or so called).
When you pull over your car on the shoulder on a road in the US, and a cop pulls over behind you, you feel comfortable that you got help. In India you are scared.
India is OK as long as things go smooth; people are killed because of negligence all the time. I have been reading news of dozens infants dying in hospitals in Bengal.
If India had anything better than mediocre medical facilities, why every sportsman or politician goes to US/Europe/Australia for treatment?
You can have a good life in India as long as nothing goes south, the moment you have an argument or problem with someone, the deciding factor is not who is right or wrong, the decider is who is powerful.
*****
By now, your feeling will be boiling hot, either in support or against the above reasons.
Post your thoughts below in the comment and keep it clean.
Following article comparing lifestyle in India and USA, cost of living, and day-to-day things is written by Rashmi – Posted a comment to Real Reason I’m Going to USA : To Be Treated Like a Human Being.
I have to thank HSB for starting this thread. One thing is for sure is that this discussion brings out the varied mindset of Indian youth. There is evidence of strong love for India as well as strong hatred. I hope there will be changes in attitude/thought of some people participating in the discussion here and it gives me strong motivation to thank HSB and spend time here.
I will bring in some real life incidents to ponder over. All of the following examples are about friends/acquaintances/relatives and I will take care to keep the description anonymous.
When I bought a flat in Gurgaon in 2005 (of course on loan with some dollar savings as down payment), it was kind of group deal to get a better bargain from the builder and several of my team mates booked flats on the same apartment.
One of my close teammates refrained from booking, I tried to persuade him, saying that this is s good investment, property prices are going up, you will have tax benefits, go for it. He said, no I will have another 2yr trip and then have enough savings to buy on cash, no loans.
He stayed back in US with H1 and got married, had kids. After 6yrs, in 2011 when we talked, I asked did you buy a flat in Gurgaon, he said no, the 3BHK flats at the same place are now INR 1.5crores and I only have 50L of savings (dollar money).
Instead of thinking of saving in dollars, you should think “smart” investment and ROI. Staying in US with family (if spouse is not working) may not save you enough money as you have to travel to India every year, pay car loans, rents etc. If spouse is working you earn enough in India as well.
There are numerous instances of people deciding to come back for child education purposes.
Higher education like MS/PhD are very good in US but not primary education. Also the education is pretty costly to manage.
I know a guy who was very excited about US and its lifestyle. After marriage, when the couple were expecting their baby, they wanted someone from their family in India to travel and take care of the lady during pregnancy and after child birth.
Unfortunately, no one could travel as everyone had other family obligations. They offered to help only if the lady comes to stay with their family in India. They had to do that, because affording a nanny/bay sitter in US is damn expensive.
This guy lost his job just after marriage in US. Unfortunately he had a long stretch of wait before he landed on another job(almost a year), I helped him financially through that lean period. This was during 2009.
There are other examples of things going wrong in US. Like attacks by negros/blacks in downtown area, racism at work place, deep under current of hatred for Indians because of fear of outsourcing. So, its not all rosy in US. Everything in life comes as package, there will be positives and negatives. It is important to understand what one wants and one has to be responsible about decisions.
I think life is equally good in India these days. Let me give examples,
Now lets talk about some of the things from cost and affordability perspective.
Now lets talk money.
Be it US, India or anywhere in this world.
A “job” mentality can not make you break the financial barrier.
Being “financially stable” and “financially independent” are 2 different things.
With a job, the maximum you will have in life is 2-3 houses, cars, LED TV etc.
To really make a difference and break the barrier (becoming financially independent), you gotta think business. Otherwise, it hardly matters whether you are in US, China, Japan or India.
******
Very good insights about lifestyle in India and USA. There are few things I disagree and lot of things to which I agree.
Medical facilities are better, but very expensive. Medical insurance is expensive. High end surgeries and treatment are cheap in India.
Agree – Health Care in Expensive and Insurance in Expensive. Indian its cheap.
Here is my view. To get quality care in India, you need to pay. Poor people can’t afford to go to Top Hospitals in India. But in USA, even you don’t have an insurance, in case of emergency, you get the same quality and care as anyone else.
Child Care in Expensive. If both parents are working, then they have to let the new-born in day care when mom starts working.
Its Indian Culture or Tradition to have their parents come to help when new baby is born.
We had our son and our parents came here to help.
Our American Neighbor had baby around the same time, their parents came couple of day after baby was born, they were here only for couple of days. then its was mom, dad and new born.
Pretty much that’s what happens with new parents in USA. They don’t have parents staying with them for 3 to 6 months.
You have same investment options in USA to get Tax Breaks. You can max out your 401(k) and IRA. In addition, if you are a home owner, you get Mortgage Interest payments as tax deductions. If Both parents are working, then chile care expenses are deductible.
I don’t know what tax dedication are available in India, but there are options to lower your income tax in USA.
Being “financially stable” and “financially independent” are 2 different things.
Now very many people understand the difference. Unfortunately in India, parents want their kids to go to Medical School or Engineering.
You don’t see them encourage kids to think in terms of an Entrepreneur.
For anyone who wants to be Financially Independent, even in USA, working for an employer is not going to get you there, unless you are in Top Management position with Millions in Bonus.
If both husband and wife works high paying jobs 100,000 to 150,000 then you can expect to save 1 Million Dollars when you retire.
With Single Income, say $100,00 to $150,000 you will still have better savings, but you have to live pay check to pay check. It takes long time to save money, paydonw your home loan and thinks several times before buying any product.
It’s easy to say, you have to start a business, but its hard work. If you are really serious about being financially Independent, you need to change your mindset first.
You are trained all your life to get a job and lead a safe life. Risk takings is not part of course work. Even i you have a simple idea, it could change the world.
Facebook Paid $1 Billion for Instagram. It was simple idea, but the founder made $400 million just for having an idea and developing an product.
If you want to know what it would be like to lead a financially independent lifestyle, start by reading this book
Trust me, it will change your thinking.
I can bet right now, folks working in IT will start reading the book. By end of 2 chapters, you will say its impossible to do what’s in the book or you will be like, I work for an employer, I get orders from a manager. How am I supposed to implement this life style design?
Well, if you manage to get complete the entire book, you will get different perspective towards life.
If you don’t have any idea on how to start a business, here is an awesome idea for you – Start Blogging.
Finally, I have to highlight this comment from Real Reason I’m Going to USA : To Be Treated Like a Human Being
When you have people like Ramkumar who writes
THe whole issue pisses me off!! You do not have the right to comment on what India is or would be until and unless you have not made any contribution to its betterment. You buggers are a parasite…you have imbibed all ther essential education, right from nursery to engineering, in this mother country and then you fart on her face by pursuing your higher education abroad and settle out there. If YOU buggers are really concerned, why don’t you do your bit and try something which could alleviate the sufferings of all? Doing a part time job while studying here is considered a sin and of low esteem, but you buggers readily lick the asses of americans there by doing all odd jobs for some bucks more!! Even I’m an Engineer, infact a topper from a very reputed college in India and I’m settled in India without any hitch or itch. It is because of you buggers is that this country is still poor!!!!!
Certainly such attitude and exposure shows they are happy to be “financially stable”.
What I still don’t understand is the same person is working (mostly in IT Services firm) and have been to USA (mostly to client site).
So, it’s not ok for some one to come to USA for higher education and work part-time, while same person can work for American Client and feed his family and earn money, travel to USA for job. If he’s thinks folks like us are parasites, I’m not sure what should we call him?
Ultimate Goal of these 3 blog posts is to create awareness of things that happen in USA and India. If someone is not matured enough to understand and learn how world is different place, there is nothing I can do about that. Even if you don’t agree to others views, take this one single message – World is a Different place, things don’t happen the way you like.
All the 120+ comments posted here are by those who want to go to US or want to settle there. What bloody work you had to come to this blog. Why the heck have you suscribed to HSB if you love india so much, and you are being so over-patriotic??? All the guys who posted negative comments or anti-HSB comments are dreaming of US (either work or study or work for some time and return). They dont want to accept ground reality.
Guys, grow up. Be sensible. There is nothing wrong to learn from other country. Be it USA or France or whatever. There is no shame in admitting that India is a developing country. Lets experience other country’s culture and system and learn from it. All those guys who posted negative comments have serious EGO problem. They refuse to accept ground realities.
Moreover, its not a debate about about which country is greater. Its about experiencing cultures. Its about experiencing the difference. The world is a global playground. Our designs are done in India, validated in US, manufactured in China, delivered in Brazil and serviced in Czech republic.
All the anti HSB fans, stop following this blog and go do your patriotism stuff.
Rest of us would give a + 1 to this post and show the middle finger to all those who don’t agree and carry on.
HSB,
I thought this post would inspire a lot of people and give them a new dimension in their thinking. You simply carry on with your good work and dont bother about these idiots. They are not eligible to experience this great country.
I’m not going to stop posting articles like this just because you don’t agree to my views or others views about India.
People are unique and I would have had same reaction if I was in College and never came to USA. But, life experience and exposure to new culture bring out different perspective in life.
Hopefully we will have more civilized discussion this time around.
Don’t forget to share this post in Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
Photo By - flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/
Following comment was posted at I’m Fascinated about Living in USA, but What About My Parents?
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Do you really think all of those going to US are doing so for mere Money.
I know that after 5-8 u will be paid 3-4 Lacs per month in India.
But my personal reason to Choose US over India is not money but the real reason is I am treated as HUMAN BEING and not any number (I would use ‘dog on the road ‘here).
Who wants to live in a country where when u go out the home, you know if you met with an accident on the road – no one come to your aid, you will bleed to death on road and all people will do is surround you and see you die but no one will take you to hospital as they don’t want any police intervention in their life ?
Who wants to live in a country where you are just a number on the road and no security for your loved ones ?
Think of the accident scenario happening with your loved ones. Who wants to work in a country where you have to work on a project in the industry in which you have no interest, your interest in particular field is not entertained; for the same job you have there are thousands and thousands of person in line who are actually willing to work at a lower pay?
Why would the company bother about you?
Here people don’t wake up in the morning and go for job but they are exploited to hell.
In the end you say you are not able to stay with your family members, how many of us while working in IT company actually gets time to actually do so?
We work 10-12 hrs/day(bit optimistic here) and when we come home all we do is eat/sleep for the rest hour s.
Would you not like to be working in a country where you can come home at 5 pm each day ?
Take your family to club, movies or for some dinner/entertainment, give time to your spouse and your children, attend PTA and able to enjoy your life with your family.
Isn’t that what every one wants in the end ?
In India if you are working, forget about the family, we don’t even have time for ourself – we won’t have time to even ponder where our life is going and all we will remember is we have worked some X years.
When you become old not will be on your death bed, most of the working class people will think that if only We had given more time to Family?
NO one thinks if only I had worked 1 more hour on that project. Do you want to live in a country where any goonda/person comes and slap you and you won’t even go to the police from the fear what they will ask/do and what if the goonda/person comes to know ?
Leave all this – do you want to live country where all people talk about is Cricket and Movies, for they have no other topic?
You should know only around 15 countries play cricket and Movies are shit here with no story ( Same old love story stuff from 50s).
If you want your sons/daughters to grow up in this kind of society – you are very welcome.
Nobody wants to live in a country where you are not treated as HUMAN BEING but a resource which is to be utilized to the max.
In the office (exploitation of your mind for cheap pay), taxes and corruption (Govt. taking your money – but you don’t see what difference your payment of tax is making in the country), pay bribe to get a simple thing as Passport which in realty is your RIGHT.
You can easily see your Right being thrown in the gutter and all you can do is watch.
People exploit each other for they know there are no rules and laws that will stop them.
No body can sue you for the wrong you have done.
If you really want to want to Live in this country – there are only 2 professions – Civil Servants (You have some respect here – though not sure what future you kid have one you retire) and Politics (Only these people are safe).
In the end what I wanted to say that MONEY IS NOT even 5 % of the main reason.
I would really love to be in a country where you know that some one will come to look after you when you dial 911 irrespective of your social status – whether you are shit-cleaner or President.
This was my personal opinion, I know most will try to show patriotism here but deep down in their heart they also feel this way. MONEY IS NOT IN THE PICTURE.
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Adding my thoughts to above Real Reasons.
About 12 months back, my little kid was inside the car on driver’s seat. My wife left the keys in the back seat. without realizing the keys are inside, she closed the doors.
My parents were visiting us and my dad said, if this were to happen in India, police will be standing by to get some money from us.
This is one small example of how people are treated with respect. It’s not the money, as the above poster said, its more than that.
Here is another experience of a person who called 911 – I called 911 for $4.50 Internet Fraud.
For those who haven’t been to USA, the view you have is only through the movies and TV programs.
You will realize the beauty of this country only when you experience and live it. One day I would have to move back to India, but when the day comes, I will try to spread the good things I have learned here to folks around.
